¶ Door Number Sixteen
¶ The Human Ego
¶ “Deny your self.”
The human ego, known as the ‘I’, the ‘self’, the ‘ana’, or the ‘nafs’ is a villain in most religions. It is the great evil force that causes us to fall. We have heard Jesus (PBUH) say
“Deny your self,”
and Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) say,
“The greatest jihad is against one’s own self,”
and we have heard Imam Ali (From Him is Peace) say, “Every person’s devil is his own self.” Every Prophet and Messenger to ever walk the Earth has taught a doctrine of self-denial or fighting against the self, evil inclinations, or annihilating the ego. However, what is “the self” exactly?
Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) said about the self (nafs):
The self is created by our works. We make it good or evil. It is our deeds that discipline it, and the self resides in the chest area. It is something which we feel but do not see. Have you ever felt it? Do you feel something in your chest? Whenever you hear good news or upsetting news do you place your hands on your chest involuntarily? Are you the type of person who places his hand on his head or on his chest when he hears a news which makes him happy or saddens him? Or whenever he hears news he strikes his thighs?
The Imam (From Him is Peace) continued to expand on how one can evaluate which aspect is stronger, the self or the soul, from our involuntary movements:
Whoever strikes their head, that means that their soul is stronger than their self. And whoever’s self and soul are equal in strength strikes his thighs in these conditions. And whoever has a self that is stronger than his soul will strike their chest. And the self is the formation of the senses, it is formed by the sense of hearing, sight, touching, and tasting. It is from these senses that the self begins to form and then the self is divided into two parts:
- The Good Self
- The Evil Self
For example, if you speak something which is haram or forbidden, then you are feeding the bad self. If you hear something forbidden or look at something which is forbidden, it will all be food for the evil self. The opposite of that is true for the good self until you reach a point where you either grow the good self by your deeds or your bad self by your deeds, and one of them shall be victorious over the other and will control the other. And the result is known in both cases. Good deeds are more powerful, meaning the effect that a good deed has on the good self is more powerful than the effect that an evil deed has on the bad self. This means that if the good self receives two degrees by one deed, the bad self would receive one degree with two evil deeds. ‘O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one self and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women.’ The self here and its mate are the good self and the evil self, and not all creatures have a self. This means that there are humans who do not have selves and only have souls. For the verse said: ‘many men and women’ and it did not say ‘all men and women,’ rather He specified that a large group has a self. The soul also is affected by our deeds, and even if there is only a minority that have only souls with no self, that does not mean they are better. The minority that do not have a self are the angels who have become humans and this is something we have today. We have Gabriel and Michael and Raphael (PBUT) and they have incarnated in human form and they are between us and are present in all ages.
¶ Differences Between the Self, Reassured Self, and the Soul
I asked Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) about the difference between the self and the soul.
The Imam (From Him is Peace) responded, “The soul is what reincarnates, when a person dies what dies of him? The body dies, and the soul has characteristics which remain with it and accompany it from body to body.”
I asked the Imam (From Him is Peace), “Then the self dies with the body, correct?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Yes, only the reassured self does not die.”
I said, “What is the reassured self, may I be your ransom?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) replied, “The reassured self is this cluster of all the feelings and emotions which is inside every creature. The reassured self is the self which is in a state of harmony with the pure soul that inhabits the same body which it inhabits. It is called the reassured self because it is reassured with the pure soul in its body.”
So I said, “Then it is the evil self that dies?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “The self which is not reassured has no value.”
I asked, “So what is the thing that lives forever in punishment if the evil self dies and disappears from existence?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “The soul is what lives forever in punishment.”
I asked, “And what lives forever in heaven is the reassured self?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “No, it is the soul, and it is accompanied by the reassured self, they unite and become one, the Lord of the self is the soul: ‘O reassured self! Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him].’ ”
I asked the Imam (From Him is Peace), “If the soul is the Lord of the self, what about the two angels who write down our good deeds and bad deeds?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Let me correct a piece of information for you. Do you know who these two angels are? They are two ears and two eyes, two lips, and two hands, two feet and two testicles, those are the ones whom people think are angels, they are your senses. The right senses record the good deeds which you do and the left senses record the evil deeds which the human does. ‘Do you consider yourself to be a small entity while within you is enfolded the greater universe?’ Peace be upon you O Prince of the Believers Ali ibn Abi Talib. I shall discipline you, my son, you shall be a great leader, knowledgeable, powerful and strong and courageous, insightful, and wise. Verily, God has made the human being a witness upon his own self and a watcher over his own self. And God made the body of the human being a witness upon itself.”
I said, “Glory be to God, at the same time, God covers up the sins of every person from everyone except their own selves.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Good job, verily God is Merciful and covering of mistakes.”
I asked about the following hadith, “When God created the self, he asked it: ‘Who am I?’ So the self responded: ‘Who am I?’ ”
Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) responded and said, “When God created the self, He said to it ‘O self, who am I?’ And the self replied ‘Me.’ ”
And from here we know that when the self was first created it thought it was God. Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) said: “The true believer makes his soul victorious over the self. Teach the believers that if one of their brothers makes a mistake, let them be the first to apologize even if they were not at fault.”
¶ Discipline Is More Important Than Knowledge
The Imam (From Him is Peace) talks about the critical importance of morals, manners, and ethical discipline that will be necessary for all the challenges facing humanity. These teachings are the foundation of any divinely guided community:
Teach them these great manners, discipline them and prepare them for what’s coming. I need such a community, discipline is more important than knowledge. Morals and manners are above all. Knowledge can be given to someone at any time but if a person is raised wrong then it is very difficult to correct them. It is like a tree which grows crooked, correcting that and making the tree straight is very difficult. Discipline is more important than everything, and learning how to expect good and elevate in dealing with others, and how to be the perfect reflection of this religion and perfect image of Ahmed Al-Hassan to the people. This is greater and more important than anything else they learn.
Teach them…
- Teach them how the believer amongst them should be ready to sleep on the dust of the ground in order that their brother or sister sleeps on a bed, and how the believer does not eat before he has checked to make sure that his brother or sister have eaten, or that food is available for them.
- Teach them how each of them should prefer the other over their own selves.
- Teach them how they should be like a solid building and how one should be for all and all for one.
- Teach them how to disintegrate and love human beings.
- Teach them that my brother comes first and I come last.
- Teach them that loving one’s self is disbelief and loving others is goodness and faith.
¶ Evaluating the Self: Give Victory to the Soul
The following dialogue focuses on how to self-assess and evaluate one’s own moral character. More importantly, the Imam (From Him is Peace) provides methods for giving victory to one’s soul.
I asked Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace), “How can a person know if it is his self which is in control or his soul?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Whenever something happens which instigates the self, do anything to crush it. Crush it with your feet. Push and push, and you shall be relieved immediately afterwards. If you do this and feel at peace, then know that the soul has crushed the self. And you shall feel peace and reassurance, and the opposite is true.”
I said, “Then the goal that we have in this world is to fight one’s self and abandon it.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “My son, as soon as the people abandon selfishness and as soon as they prefer others over their own selves, the world shall be a world of light, and you shall not find in it a single poor person or needy person or hungry person or scared person. That is the most important thing for humans to do. To prefer others over their own selves. My brother first. My sister first.”
I said, “I, the one who is speaking to you, and sometimes jokes, and I have certain characteristics and traits, and certain moods, what is this, the self or the soul or the body?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “The self and human senses.”
I said, “Well what else then remains of me?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Your soul is different, you shall see the difference during the Rise. You shall change, and the soul will be the only one operating and you shall be very harsh with no mercy.”
I said, “Then, mercy with the disbelievers is from the self, and mercy towards the believers and harshness with the disbelievers is from the soul.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “It is from the self which has been raised upon certain human understandings, and each according to their environment in which they were raised. You shall see for yourself. You won’t forgive even the smallest of things and you will not return to your natural state until after that time passes.”
I said, “So in general, when the human being passes away, what is it that travels to the other side?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “The soul.”
I said, “And the self completely dissipates?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “The body disintegrates.”
I said, “So for example, is it like when a person is playing a video game, the main character or avatar whom we are playing, it has a body and personality in the game, and we are the ones moving and controlling it?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Yes, great job!”
I said, “And when the game is over, the only thing remaining is the person playing the game.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “You have now given the best of examples and most accurate.”
I said, “And then you find the human being sometimes saying some words or imitating some moves from what the character in the game used to say or do, meaning the gamer is influenced by the game a little bit. But other than that, the character remains only as a memory in the mind of the gamer.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Exactly. And the soul cannot be overpowered, if the soul is annoyed by the self, the soul leaves, it goes away. We are speaking about the good soul in this case.”
I said, “What about the bad soul? Does it continue enjoying the video game in a drunken state?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “The evil soul is the one who disfigures the self more and more. And as such this disfigurement of the self is more and more reflected through the creature’s actions.”
I said, “When the good soul leaves a body, is it replaced by an evil soul or could it hypothetically speaking remain an empty vessel?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “It’s not always the case that the good soul is replaced with an evil one.”
I said, “So in the end then, would the existence of this person with no soul, who is just a self and a body, upon death, just end without there being for it hellfire or anything?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “The body has a special punishment, it can return as an animal or insect, as I have previously informed you.”
I said, “Then Maskh is the return of the body or the re-creation of the body as an animal?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Maskh is the reincarnation of the evil soul in the body of the person who became a maskh, meaning from the same clay or the same materials which previously decomposed.”
I said, “So if the soul went out of a person and it wasn’t replaced with an evil soul and then the person died with no soul, he was only at that point a body and a self, do they have a special punishment or is the punishment the cessation of existence?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Yes, you could say that, but if we really delve into it, he would be tormented first and he would take what he deserves.”
I said, “Glory be to God. And is everyone who is killed at the hands of a Mahdi someone with a soul?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “For sure they are an evil soul and a filthy self and they will never ever have any intercession accepted for them.”
I said, “So these souls are worse than Iblis?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Yes, they are worse.”
I said, “God’s curse is upon them.”
¶ Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) “Spirit Molecule”
One day I asked Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace), “There is a substance called DMT that is present in everything alive, plants, animals, human beings. It is said that this substance is released by the brain when we dream or at death and that it causes hallucinations as well. People who have used DMT remember feeling as if their souls are going out of their bodies and they see other worlds which they cannot understand and they see creatures which talk to them. They call it the “Spirit Molecule.” Is this substance the connecting substance between worlds, my Father? And does our brain naturally release it when we are in deep meditative states?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) replied and said, “It is the opening that we spoke about. It is elevation, and as you said, it is the connecting substance.”
I said, “It is very powerful and makes you feel as if you are dying in the beginning, and then suddenly you find yourself in space, in other worlds. What are these creatures, my Father, are they souls? Are they people who have not incarnated yet?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “All creatures have DMT in them in varying amounts. For example, you have a lot of it in you whilst someone else has a small amount. You have a lot and other than you have a little, all in accordance.”
I asked, “So depending on the amount already within my body, if I took DMT for example, the effect would be larger than a person who had a little amount in their body?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “It depends on the spiritual, psychological and moral condition of the human being, and upon his beliefs and his faith and certitude. Here is an example between your hands, two rubber balloons, one of them is small while the other is large. If you put an amount of air in the large one and it expands to its maximum, then you put the same amount of air into the small balloon, what will happen?”
I said, “It will explode.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “Exactly, it is as such exactly with this substance [DMT].”
I said, “And the world which we transport to is the world of the dead?”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “It depends. Perhaps you would go to the world of the living.”
I said, “So, it is a portal to go to whatever frequency the person is vibrating at.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) replied, “Exactly.”
¶ Sources
- The Holy Bible, Book of Matthew, Chapter 16, Verse 24
- Mizan Al-Hikmah (Scale of Wisdom), Mohammed Al-Reyshahri, Vol. 1, p. 453
- Sharḥ Nahj Al-Balāgha, Ibn Abi Al-Hadid, Vol. 20, p. 292
- The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 4 (Al-Nisa), Verse 1
- The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 89 (Al-Fajr), Verses 27-28
- A’yan Al-Shia’, Sayed Mohsin Al-Amin, Vol. 1, p. 552
- Mashareq Anwar Al-Yaqeen, Al-Hafiz Rajab Al-Borsi, p. 21